Supergroup Stories
by W. Pooh
Summary: Characters from Smallville go their separate ways, seeking different paths to solve the worlds problems. Lex seeks greater control and power. Lana becomes a vigilante. Clark fights for justice.
1. Deceived

**'Deceived'**

After Tina Greer's and Clark's fight behind the Talon Clark called the police to report

a dead body. The police arrived in about ten minutes and Clark walked them over

to where he last saw Tina. Clark was shocked to find that the body was gone.

After some questioning from the police Clark met up with Lana. Lana, who was still crying,

asked Clark if he was sure that Tina was dead.

Clark lied to Lana, who had been in a fragile state, and told her that he believed

that she was. After comforting her he told her that he would call Lex and tell

him what happened.

Clark reached Lex at his mansion and told him about the fight and how Tina's

body disappeared. He also told him about Lana's situation. Lex assured Clark not

to worry, and that everything would be taken care of.

For the first time in his life Clark was not concerned about Lex's extreme

methods, and he thanked him for his help.


	2. The Fate of Jeremy Creek

**'The Fate of Jeremy Creek'**

Years ago Lex secretly began to assemble an elite task force of metahumans. One of the first metahumans he sought was Jeremy Creek, a former Smallville student who went on a rampage after being meteor infected. Lex invited Jeremy to join an elite Luthorcorp training program. He told him that with Luthorcorp training and specialized equipment he could be one of the most powerful metahumans ever.

Jeremy was cautious about Lex's proposal. He had been only recently released from Belle Reve Sanitarium, where his rehabilitation was long and difficult. And, like Jeff Palmer, Jeremy had also come to respect and admire Clark Kent as a role model. In his modest room at Belle Reve he spent many hours contemplating what it would be like to be a hero like Clark, but he soon found life outside Belle Reve to be extremely difficult.

Clark Kent learned of Jeremy's dilemma and offered room and board at the Kent farm. He also warned Jeremy not to trust Lex.

Jeremy knew that Lex wasn't to be trusted, but he also didn't want to impose on Clark. Jeremy still had not forgiven himself for what he planned to do to Clark's classmates. In his despondent state Jeremy ultimately accepted Lex's proposal. He soon began training to become a member of Luthorcorp's elite task force, a group that would one day be known as the Legion of Doom.


	3. The Ivory Tower

**'The Ivory Tower'**

Jordan Cross first met Lana when trying out for Smallville's track team. Although Jordan began dating Megan Calder soon after, who at the time was a cheerleader, he discovered that he had much in common with Lana, both academically and athletically.

Jordan and Lana spent a lot of time at Smallville High as honor students studying together. They shared many of the same classes. In time, they began to trust one another, and would sometimes share their dreams and goals with each other.

One of their major concerns was the large number of meteor-infected individuals in Smallville, and the potential of these individuals to wreak havoc on the population. To solve this dilemma Jordan thought that a league needed to be formed in order to maintain justice in Smallville. Being an avid reader Jordan became inspired by the example of King Arthur and the code of the Knights of the Round Table. He believed that people should not only enforce the law but also dedicate themselves to principles of loyalty, honor, faith and steadfastness. He also believed that it was the responsibility of the strong to defend the weak.

Lana agreed somewhat with Jordan's ideas. But Lana believed that it was the responsibility of the strong to defend the innocent people of Smallville from the meteor infected by rounding up meteor-infected individuals and relocating them to the Belle Reve sanitarium.

Jordan himself was meteor-infected, but he worried that revealing this to Lana might make her apprehensive. Jordan tried to convince Lana that not all meteor-infected individuals were dangerous.

Lana was shocked to hear this from Jordan, who she considered to be a close friend. She could not understand why the deaths of Principal Kwan and Van McNulty did not convince him of the necessity to take serious measures to defend the citizens of Smallville from the meteor-infected menace. Lana had been especially upset from the death of Van at the hands of several meteor freaks in Belle Reve. Van had once saved her life. She told Jordan never to speak to her again and stormed off.


	4. Reunion

**'Reunion'**

Years after high school, and the bitter argument that ended their friendship, Jordan Cross called Lana after seeing a vision of her being killed in an explosion. Lana was at first cautious in talking to Jordan, but after hearing about his vision she began to sound much more receptive. They agreed to meet in Smallville.

The next day Jordan and Lana analyzed details of his vision, hoping to alter the future. Jordan noticed that the details he mentioned seemed to resonate with Lana, but she said nothing to him about what they might represent. Instead she told him that she was very grateful for his help, and that she had to leave immediately to make sure nothing happened. Jordan offered to go with her but she insisted it wasn't necessary, and thanked him again for his help.

The next day Jordan and Lana met again. Lana was thrilled to see him. She was convinced that Jordan had saved her life. Lana started to trust Jordan again. She began to tell him of a plan to create a vigilante task force to reign in dangerous meteor freaks and Kryptonians.

Jordan avoided Lana's eyes. He had assumed that Lana had realized that he was meteor-infected, but she had not. He tried to hide his disinterest. Jordan had wanted so much for them to be friends again. He told Lana how great it was to see her again, and then made an excuse to leave, telling her that he would call her later.

Before Jordan left Smallville he confronted Clark. He told him about Lana's plans to build up a vigilante task force, a group that would most likely shoot first and ask questions later. But Clark had been reluctant to believe Jordan. He had known Lana his whole life.

Jordan interpreted Clark's reluctance as apathy. He believed that Clark had turned his back on him.

Jordan traveled to Metropolis where he accepted an offer by Oliver Queen to join a group of special operatives—a group who's goal at the time was to curb the violence and destruction caused by Metropolis's warring metahuman gangs.


	5. The Rise and Fall of the Edge Gang

**The Rise and Fall of the Edge Gang**

Over time Oliver Queen's gang was able to establish themselves in Metropolis. They  
maintained a relative calm among the metahuman gangs who would constantly rally  
for power. In the meantime Lana Lang continued to gather followers to her vigilante  
cause, yet she chose to remain mostly outside the city, preferring the earthiness and  
secrecy of the Kawatche reservation. Also at this time Lex had not yet made a move  
to take on the gangs of Metropolis.

Oliver's gang considered their biggest threat to be the remnants of the Morgan Edge  
gang, who had since recruited among the metahuman population. The Edge gang  
increased in strength after Lionel Luthor learned about Lex's ambition to create  
an elite task force of metahumans for his own purposes. Upon his discovery Lionel  
went into a jealous rage. Fearing his own death at the hands of his son Lex, Lionel threw  
all his support and finances behind the Morgan Edge gang.

The leaders of the Edge gang were elated to receive Lionel's support, but in their  
jubilation they did not anticipate the speed of Lex's response. When the moment was  
right Lex moved into Metropolis with his "Legion of Doom". He ordered them to wipe  
out the Edge gang to set an example for the other metahuman gangs. Lionel Luthor  
was killed in the attack.

The Edge gang's hideout was completely destroyed in a massive explosion.  
Several nearby buildings caught on fire. One of them was a children's hospital.

Oliver's gang arrived on the scene soon afterward to assist in the rescue effort. They  
were told by hospital officials that many people had been evacuated, but there were  
certain parts of the hospital that weren't accessible because of the fire.

Jordan Cross was able to pinpoint the location of children and hospital workers still  
trapped inside by focusing his mind. He instructed Bart Allen and Arthur Curry on  
how to bring them back safely. Together they worked against time to save as many people as possible.

Bart and Arthur were able to save most of them before the building collapsed. Jordan  
was later able to locate people who had been trapped in debris, but only a few of them were still alive.

Bart was shocked that Lex Luthor had discovered the location of the Edge gang's  
secret hideout. Bart had only just recently been able to discover its location while  
working for Oliver's gang. He began to suspect that someone had revealed the secret  
location to one of Lex Luthor's special operatives.

Metropolis was thrown into chaos once again as the metahuman gangs rallied to fill the vacuum of the Edge gang. In the brutal aftermath Arthur Curry, Helena Bertinelli and 'Black' Canary were finally able to convince Oliver to allow them to use harsher methods to restore order to Metropolis. In the meantime Bart Allen became obsessed with fighting crime, so much so that Bart soon became the unwitting accomplice of the darker elements of Oliver's gang.


	6. The Agents of Justice

**The Agents of Justice**

Gang violence in Metropolis escalated after the eradication of the Edge gang, which caused a power vacuum in Metropolis. Not even the Metropolis police, the greatest police force in the world, could deal with the insurgence. Hearing of the death of a police officer on the evening news became common.

In the brutal aftermath Arthur Curry, Helena Bertinelli and Black Canary were finally able to convince Oliver to allow them to use harsher methods to restore order to Metropolis. In the meantime Bart Allen became obsessed with fighting crime, so much so that Bart soon became the unwitting accomplice of the darker elements of Oliver's gang.

Over time Helena Bertinelli, Black Canary, and Arthur Curry, became frustrated with the criminal justice system and decided to take the law into their own hands. While they had originally sought to contain gang violence in Metropolis, they eventually began a strategy of pitting one gang against another, seeking to wipe them out entirely.

In the beginning this new strategy seemed to make sense to Oliver. For every life that was lost in brawls that were caused by Oliver's gang he believed the life of a police officer would be saved.

But this change in methodology caused a fracture in the group. The most outspoken critic of these changes was Jordan Cross. Jordan's concerns were soon echoed by Kyle Tippet, and finally with Bart Allen.

Bart Allen's obsession with stopping crime in Metropolis, which had become an epidemic because of the large number of metahumans living there, caused him to not consider the implications of his actions at the time. But through his conversations with Kyle Tippet and Jordan Cross, Bart came to understand that not only were his actions wrong but they were also illegal.

Bart was furious. But he was even more angry at himself for not realizing the wrongfulness of what he had been doing as a member of Oliver's gang.

Bart placed a large part of the blame on Arthur Curry for bringing Helena Bertinelli and Black Canary into Oliver's gang, along with their vigilante brand of justice. He confronted Arthur, told him what he thought about him and his new friends, and then punched him in the face with such speed that Arthur fell onto his back.

Bart's attack was a blow to Arthur's ego. Not knowing how to fight back against Bart, who could move hundreds of times faster than Clark Kent, Arthur decided that he would wait and talk to him after he calmed down.

Victor Stone was deeply concerned with the drastic measures the group would sometimes take in deterring crime in Metropolis. Yet he also believed that a split would destroy everything they had achieved as a group. He regretfully decided to support Oliver.

Together Jordan, Kyle, and Bart decided that they couldn't fight crime while breaking the law. They felt that they could only make a difference if they themselves exemplified justice.

Oliver soon saw himself in the middle of a dispute. As a group Oliver's gang had done some very heroic things. And yet they also did many things that he came to regret. He hoped to convince Jordan, Kyle and Bart that the good they did outweighed the bad.

Jordan, Bart, and Kyle were unconvinced by Oliver's argument. The press echoed their concerns. . Because of the group's harsh methods the press dubbed them the 'Agents of Justice'. In the course of ridding Metropolis from violence and destruction they had created even more violence and destruction. Jordan, Bart, and Kyle decided that if they were going to fight crime they would not do it by breaking the law. Together they headed to Smallville, hoping that Clark Kent would join their cause.

As time went on, the Metropolis gangs eventually adapted to their diminishing numbers of meteor-infected members by turning to other sources of power. They learned new techniques of using kryptonite. They created tattoos which gave them the ability to walk through walls. They created fumes which gave them superhuman strength. In addition, Lex Luthor secretly marketed experimental kryptonite substances to these gangs. Some of these substances had never been tested, not even on animals. As a result they sometimes resulted in death or in unexpected mutations.

Oliver's gang became outnumbered, and attacked in mostly hit-and-run skirmishes. They survived on adrenaline and hate. But over time took its toll, eating away at them.

Eventually the only members who remained were Oliver, Helena Bertinelli and Black Canary. The most zealous member of Oliver's remaining gang was Helena Bertinelli, who had become known in Metropolis as the Huntress. Black Canary continued mostly out of loyalty to her friends, although she eventually came to regret the path she had chosen. Green Arrow was torn between the two of them. He was either unwilling or unable to acknowledge the guilt he felt for his part in violence that led to numerous deaths, deaths of people who were both guilty and innocent. He was a shell of the man he had once been. He hid his face beneath his dark goggles and hood. His clothes were tattered and he neglected to shave.


	7. Elysium

**Elysium**

One day Arthur Curry, Victor Stone's best friend, confessed to Victor that he had leaked information about the whereabouts of the Edge gang's hideout to Lucas Luthor, someone Arthur had met a long time ago while gambling in Edge City. It wasn't long before Lucas's gambling debts caught up with him again and he sold the information to Lex. Lex subsequently ordered his Legion to wipe out the Edge Gang, and then to plant explosives at their hideout after the job was done. The explosion caused a fire that destroyed several surrounding buildings, including a children's hospital.

This revelation was too much for Victor. He hated himself for the violence and destruction he caused as a member of Oliver's gang. He was slowly becoming less and less human, and more like a machine.

While Victor had once thought of his bionic implants as a blessing he now saw them as a curse. He swore that he would never cause anyone pain. With a thought he disabled the superhuman strength from his bionic implants, vowing to never use it again. He said a few words to Oliver and then left the Agents of Justice, planning to never return.

Victor thought back to the time when he has a young, hyperactive child whose misbehavior got him into trouble so many times with his teachers. But one day his parents took him to a school that taught Shaolin Kung Fu. At his school Victor learned discipline, respect for himself and others, patience, and to be humble, even in victory. Before the car accident that changed his life forever Victor had become a proficient teacher of Kung Fu, and had been invited to travel to China to train with the masters.

Victor decided that he would return to his school in Metropolis, a place where he had always been welcome to teach. After a few months he accepted an invitation to study in China.


	8. Low

'**Low'**

It was a month after Bart Allen discovered his secret, and the two of them fought, that Arthur finally confessed to his best friend, Victor Stone. Arthur had leaked the location of the Edge Gang's hideout to Lucas Luthor, brother of Lex Luthor, someone he had met a long time ago while gambling in Edge City. It wasn't long before Lucas's gambling debts caught up with him again and he sold the information to Lex.

Lex ordered his Legion to wipe out the Edge Gang, and then to plant explosives at their hideout after the job was done. The explosion caused a fire that destroyed several surrounding buildings, including a children's hospital.

Upon hearing this news from Arthur, Victor said nothing. He walked into Oliver Queen's office, said a few words, and then left the Agents of Justice gang forever.

Arthur stayed on with the Agents of Justice for two months. During that time they continued their strategy of pitting one gang against another, seeking to wipe them out entirely. The most zealous member of the gang was Helena Bertinelli, who had become known in Metropolis as the Huntress. Black Canary continued mostly out of loyalty to her friends, although she had eventually come to regret the path she had chosen. Green Arrow was torn between the two of them. He was either unwilling or unable to acknowledge the guilt he felt for his part in violence that led to numerous deaths, deaths of people who were both guilty and innocent. He was a shell of the man he had once been. He hid his face beneath his dark goggles and hood. His clothes were tattered and he neglected to shave.

Eventually, Arthur began to wonder what was worse: the dozens of deaths he caused with his carelessness or the fact that Oliver didn't seem to care anymore. He headed to the nearest dock.

When he got there he found Clark Kent waiting for him. "What the hell are you doing here Kent?" he said.

Clark said "I'm not here to stop you. I'm your friend Arthur. You can run away from your mistakes, but you'll never be whole again until you take responsibility."

Arthur didn't want to leave. He wanted to be strong like Clark, but he needed some time to himself. He walked up to Clark, shook his hand, and gave him a pat on the back. "I'm gonna miss you Kent", he said. "You never got your chance to race me underwater."

Clark glanced out into the water.

Arthur said "another time". He smiled, waved goodbye, and dived out into the ocean.

Clark watched Arthur swim at super-speed into the sunrise. "He's a good man", he said.


	9. The Justice League

**The Justice League**

Jordan Cross, Kyle Tippet, and Bart Allen decided that if they were going to fight crime they would not do it by breaking the law. Together they quit the Agents of Justice gang and headed to Smallville, hoping that Clark Kent would join their cause.

One of their major concerns was the large number of meteor infected individuals in Smallville, and the potential of these individuals to wreak havoc on the population. To solve this dilemma Jordan believed that a league needed to be formed in order to maintain justice in Smallville and across Lowell County.

Being an avid reader Jordan became inspired by the example of King Arthur and the code of the Knights of the Round Table. Jordan believed that people should not only enforce the law but also dedicate themselves to principles of loyalty, honor, faith and steadfastness. Jordan also believed that it was the responsibility of the strong to defend the weak.

When they confronted Clark, and told him of their intention to form a new group, Clark was puzzled what he should do. He faced a decision that would change his life forever. He wondered what advice his father Jonathan would give him. He spent many hours on the phone talking to his mother in Washington. He spent days debating what to do. He also spent hours at his father's grave, hoping for a sign.

Clark eventually became convinced that joining their group, which they referred to as the Justice League, was the best thing he could do to help humanity, and that his father would be proud of him.

Jordan, Bart and Kyle were elated to hear Clark's decision to join the League. Clark decided that as a member of their group he would be known as Kal-El.

Once Jordan felt that the group had a solid understanding of the code of the Knights of the Round Table he thought it necessary to have some kind of initiation to affirm their devotion to the code. He decided that they should climb Avalon rock, a large rock in Smallville surrounded by miles of golden wheat.

Together they climbed Avalon rock, using teamwork to help each other upward.

When they finally reached the top they congratulated each other and smiled. They gazed out at the beautiful fields of gold that surrounded them. Finally, they formed a square with four hands interlocked, and recited the Knight's code:

When called upon, to defend the rights of the weak with all one's strength

To never lay down arms

Never to break faith for any reason

Not to attack one another

To seek nothing before honour

To injure no one

To fight for the safety of one's country

To give one's life for one's country

To practice religion most diligently

To seek after wonders

To grant hospitality to anyone, each according to his ability

Whether in honour or disgrace, to make a report with the greatest fidelity to truth to those who keep the annals


	10. The Beacon

**The Beacon**  
Clark Kent recently joined up with Jordan Cross, Bart Allen and Kyle Tippet. Together they formed a group which they named the Justice League. One of the original goals of their group was to help to maintain law and order in the town of Smallville and the rest of Lowell County.

To achieve this goal they began to seek out new allies. Among the people they sought out were several metahuman gangs in Metropolis who had been sympathetic to their goals in the past. Clark, now calling himself by his Kryptonian name Kal-El, was highly respected by these gangs not only for his awesome powers but for his honest and noble character. Clark met with them personally to discuss an alliance.

But at that time Metropolis was more chaotic than ever. Gang violence escalated after the eradication of the Edge gang, which caused a power vacuum in Metropolis. There was also much fear of Lex Luthor's special operatives, a group more commonly referred to as the "Legion of Doom". The Legion had single handedly managed to wipe out the Edge gang overnight, and were largely considered to be invincible.

There were also suspicions about the Justice League. Jordan Cross, Bart Allen and Kyle Tippet had previously been members of a gang known as the Agents of Justice led by Green Arrow. While the "agents" had originally sought to contain gang violence in Metropolis, darker elements of Green Arrow's gang eventually began a strategy of pitting one gang against another, seeking to wipe them out entirely.

And at that time most of the remaining members of the Agents of Justice gang continued that goal. The most zealous member of the gang was Helena Bertinelli, who had become known in Metropolis as the Huntress. Black Canary continued mostly out of loyalty to her friends, although she had eventually come to regret the path she had chosen. Green Arrow was torn between the two of them. He was either unwilling or unable to acknowledge the guilt he felt for his part in violence that led to numerous deaths, deaths of people who were both guilty and innocent. He was a shell of the man he had once been. He hid his face beneath his dark goggles and hood. His clothes were tattered and he neglected to shave.

Clark was a voice of optimism in some very dark times, but he found little to no support among the Metropolis gangs. Against the Legion of Doom the Justice League would stand alone.


	11. Baptism of Fire

**Baptism of Fire**

With Clark's help the Justice League felt that now they were strong enough to implement some of Jordan Cross's plans to stop Lex Luthor's continually expanding corporate empire. They began to conduct a thorough surveillance of Luthorcorp activities, and did whatever they could to impede Lex's projects.

When Lex discovered that a new supergroup had been interfering with his operations, and that Clark was a member of this group, he made plans to meet with Clark alone to make a 'truce'. Unafraid, Clark agreed to meet Lex.

Lex asked Clark to put an end to this group, and tried to convince him that any suspicions of illegal activity were unfounded.

Clark was furious. He told Lex of things he had seen and heard that proved to him that Lex wasn't telling the truth.

Lex was also very angry, but he kept his cool. His eyes glowered at Clark with a cold fury. Lex pressed a button and doors opened all around the room they were standing in.

From out of the darkness Clark recognized Tina Greer, Mikail Mxyzptlk, Bizarro, Molly Griggs, Dr. Helen Bryce, Jeff Palmer, and Jeff's sister Amy Palmer-Teschmacher. Lex stood up, still glowering at him. He told Clark to tell the League to stop or he'd have them all killed, including Clark himself.

Clark's brave facade faded. He came to the sad realization that his former friend was now his enemy.

Tina Greer stepped forward. Clark saw her press a button on the table. A door opened to an exit. Tina told Clark that he should leave before she killed him herself.

Clark stared at her for a moment, still shocked that Lex would let her kill him. He turned around and walked toward the exit.

From behind himself Clark heard the sound of laughter. Their laughter echoed in his ears as he slowly walked away.


	12. The Line in the Sand

**The Line in the Sand**

As the Justice League grows stronger Lex Luthor lies awake at night, unable to sleep. His dreams become nightmares. In an unexpected twist of fate his indomitable "Legion of Doom" had been thwarted by an upstart group of four metahumans: Jordan Cross, Bart Allen, Kyle Tippet and Kal-El, a Kryptonian.

The defeat was a major blow to the morale of his operatives who had considered themselves invincible until then. Lex decided to make drastic changes to his elite task force. He reorganized it into two units: one whose main purpose was to identify and eliminate threats to Luthorcorp known as Project Vanguard, and one unit whose main purpose was to defend his interests, known as Project Rearguard. He chose Tina Greer to be the commander of the Vanguard in addition to her role as head of his elite task force. He chose Mxyzptlk, Tina's second in command, to be the commander of the Rearguard.

But how do you catch a man who can run faster than the speed of light? How do you fight a man who can control you with the slightest touch? How do you kill a man who knows how you will die? And then there's Kal-El, not a man at all but a Kryptonian, destined to outlive them all.


	13. The Safe House

**The Safe House**  
Day after day people report mysterious attacks and disappearances in Smallville and all across Lowell County. After investigating further, Clark Kent learns that the victims of these attacks were meteor-infected. He also hears rumors that some of the victims appeared to lose their memories and were thought to have joined a mysterious cult on the Kawatche reservation.

Clark wondered if Lana had anything to do with this. He knew that Lana had been recruiting people, some of them the victims of Luthorcorp and Summerholt experiments, in an effort to create a vigilante task force to counter Lex.

Clark had recently joined up with Jordan Cross, Bart Allen and Kyle Tippet, who were now calling themselves the Justice League. As a group they made one of their main objectives to help to enforce law and order in Lowell County. To prevent further attacks they located as many meteor-infected individuals as they could and directed them to safe houses at secret locations.

A few nights later one of the safe houses was attacked. The residents couldn't be found anywhere the following morning, and the house itself was burnt to the ground.

The Justice League went to the site to investigate. Jordan Cross began to have visions of Lana. She appeared to be using her power ring to raze the house to the ground. He also had visions of Kevin Grady who appeared to be erasing the memories of the residents, and Byron Moore appeared to be leading them in the direction of the Kawatche reservation.

The Justice League made plans to set a trap. They relocated the residents of the other safe house, and staked it out for the night.

Later that night they were shocked by a crowd that suddenly rushed the house. The crowd entered through the doors and the windows almost as if they were in some kind of zombie trance. Bart, moving at hyper-speed, was able to tie them up in a matter of seconds. They fell to the ground in shock and struggled to escape their bonds.

Clark anxiously looked them over. He recognized many of them as people he'd seen with Lana.

Clark was furious that Lana would act like this. He thought that her power ring must be affecting her mind. It's effect on her and her followers seemed almost hypnotic.

Still angry, Clark asked Kyle Tippet to tell one of Lana's followers to run back to Lana and tell her what happened.

Clark had brought a small wooden horse with him. It looked like the black horse that Lana used to ride. He had planned to leave it for Lana, with a note, hoping she would remember the person that she once was. But now seeing what she was capable of, he tossed away the note and wrote a new one.

He told her that when she rides in the forest she should remember the Justice League. She should remember their strength, and their determination to defend the rights of the weak. "We are the Justice League", he told her, "and we will not rest until you are defeated".


	14. The Scorn of Star Sapphire

**The Scorn of Star Sapphire**

As leader of the Hand of Vengeance, a vigilante group, Lana hopes to save humanity by ridding the world of dangerous Kryptonians and meteor freaks. Lana makes exceptions for a few meteor infected individuals who had been the victims of human experimentation.

But recently Lana is shocked to discover that the Justice League, led by Jordan Cross, has thwarted an assault by some of her followers on a safe house for meteor freaks.

Lana is heartbroken that her former friends would betray her, and is furious that her goal of saving humanity has been impeded. For the greater good, Lana swears to destroy the Justice League, even if it means killing her former friends.


	15. Kidnapped

**Kidnapped**

The Justice League learns that Chloe Sullivan has been abducted by Lana's followers, a group of vigilantes calling themselves the Hand of Vengeance.

Lana had failed to convince Chloe of her plan to save humanity by eliminating dangerous Kryptonians and meteor freaks, but making exceptions for those who were the victims of human experimentation. She ordered her first lieutenant Kevin Grady to temporarily erase some of Chloe's memories so that Chloe would work with them. Lana convinced Kevin that it was for a greater good.

In the wake of the kidnapping, a battle ensued between the Justice League and the Hand of Vengeance. During this battle Clark and Kyle Tippet got a first hand look of the 'new' Chloe. Her face looked blank as if she is in a trance. Clark and Kyle called out to her but instead of running to them she was frightened by them.

Clark also confronted Kevin Grady during the battle. Clark and Kevin had once been friends. Now, fighting on different sides, Kevin begins to doubt Lana's reasoning.

Chloe and Bart Allen are shocked by an attack on Jordan Cross, the Justice League's leader. Jordan is almost killed by Lana. He is just barely able to escape after foreseeing his own death.

Clark comes to accept that Lana is now his enemy.


	16. The China Saga 1: Derelict

**Derelict**  
After Arthur finally quit the Agents of Justice he swam aimlessly through the ocean. At times he would swim to the North Pole and to fiery underwater volcanoes in a reckless attempt to test his resistance to heat and cold. He also stopped at casino resorts where he recklessly gambled away most of his fortune.

One day Arthur arrived in Macau, China, the home of the largest casino in the world. His favorite game was baccarat. He walked over to his favorite casino and located the baccarat table. When he got there he was shocked to find Lana Lang, whom he had met when she was dating Clark.

Lana was with a group of friends who he'd never met before. She explained that she and her friends were archaeologists from Metropolis who had been working for a local university through an exchange program. They had fun playing baccarat for about an hour and then they all sat down for a drink.

Arthur was intrigued by Lana's knowledge of archaeology. In his travels through the ocean he had discovered shipwrecks, some of which had made him very rich. He also found old relics that had no real value but he kept for sentimental reasons. He told her how he once found some unusual looking sculptures in Macau among the remnants of an underwater city. The description of these sculptures intrigued Lana.

As the night drew on Arthur began to feel more and more groggy, yet he had only drank a small amount of alcohol. Suddenly he collapsed on the table in front of him, unconscious.

That night Arthur had nightmares. He dreamed that a werewolf-like creature had restrained him. Another creature who was more wraith-like drained him of his strength. Then he was taken to a place near the beach where he kept his local collection of artifacts. When he got there he was blinded by a whiteout, and could no longer remember where or who he was.


	17. The China Saga 2: Defender

**Defender  
**It was a beautiful summer day in China. Victor Stone gazed out at the trees surrounding his Shaolin temple where he had been studying for a year. In the distance he recognized Lana Lang. He waved to her, happy to see his old friend again. Lana smiled and waved back.

Lana called the day before telling Victor that she needed to speak to him in person about something urgent. When she got there she told him about an ancient artifact she found. She said she was told by scientists that the artifact appeared to be alien in origin, and that it might have the potential to heal people suffering from untreatable illnesses. Lana believed that Victor, with his unique technical abilities as a cyborg, was her best hope for activating the device. She asked him to travel with her to Macau, China.

Victor wanted to go with Lana, but he knew that if he left his training now it would be an insult to his Shaolin masters and to his fellow students. He would be dishonored among his peers, and would be politely asked to never return.

But Victor had not forgotten how Lana and Clark had taken him in when he was being pursued by the lab that had experimented on him. He also remembered how Lana had been injured by his pursuers.

The next day Victor presented himself to his Shaolin masters and told them of his intention to leave. In response they replied that if he left he would have to follow the Shaolin path on his own, and that he would be welcome back when his training was complete.

To Victor this was like telling him that he could never return. Victor had no idea how to complete his training. It was his dream to learn the mysteries of Shaolin kung fu.

As Victor left the temple he tried to hide his disappointment from Lana who had been waiting outside. Lana was a true friend. He would never want her to feel like a burden.


	18. The China Saga 3: False Prophet

**False Prophet**

Victor Stone accompanied Lana Lang to Macau, China, forgoing his training at the Shaolin temple so that he could use his bionic abilities to repair a device--a device that might have the potential to save countless lives.

When Victor arrived in Macau, Lana revealed to him that Arthur Curry had also been working with her, and that he had recently been seriously injured.

Arthur was scouring the waters around Macau looking for clues that might help them use the device. One day he was hit by a missile from a submarine. When Lana found Arthur he was unconscious and barely breathing. Victor walked over to where Arthur was lying down. Lana told him that Arthur was given drugs for the pain, and the drugs caused him to sleep most of the time. Victor was sad to see his best friend injured, but was hopeful that he would get better.

Lana walked Victor over to the device she had described to him. She handed it to Victor. Using an interface embedded in his fingers Victor was able to send and receive messages from the device.

He learned from the device that it was able to see and hear them. The device also told him that it was able to decipher their language.

It told Victor it learned that Lana had drugged Arthur and taken him here against his will. It also told him that Kevin Grady had used his mental powers to persuade Arthur to continue searching the waters, waters that were frequently patrolled by submarines.

Victor couldn't believe his ears. He repeated to Lana what the device told him and asked her if it was true.

In a fit of rage Lana grabbed the device from Victor and threw it on the ground. Victor stepped back and stared at her in shock.

Lana calmed herself. She explained to Victor that they had drugged Arthur, and brainwashed him so he would work for him.

Victor was stunned. "Why?!" he asked. "Why would you do this?!"

Lana explained to Victor that Arthur was a killer. She told him that Arthur had been the informant who revealed to Lucas Luthor, brother of Lex Luthor, the location of the Edge gang's hideout in Metropolis, and also told him about the explosion afterward that lead to the destruction of the Metropolis Children's Hospital.

Victor explained to Lana that Arthur was drinking at the time, and never intended to say anything to Lucas, and that he had always been a good friend.

Hearing this from Victor made Lana angry again. She told Victor that Arthur was a freak. She explained how the meteor freaks from Smallville that did nothing but cause pain and destruction. Lana said that she had been generous in allowing Arthur to live.

Victor was puzzled. Lana had told him earlier that Byron Moore, Kevin Grady and Chloe Sullivan were all meteor-infected. He asked her if they brainwashed also.

Lana explained that Kevin, Byron and Chloe had been the victims of human experimentation, both from the Summerholt Institute and from Luthorcorp, and that they were now dedicated to the destruction of those organizations. She also told him that she had been the victim of experimentation herself, by both Luthorcorp and by Jor-El, a Kryptonian.

She walked toward Victor and took his hand. She told Victor that he was one of them. Victor had also been the victim of human experimentation.

Lana repeated the seriousness of their mission. "This device might even be able to bring back the dead", she said. "My family died a long time ago, but one day your family might live again". She asked Victor one more time if he would help them.

Victor was disgusted that Lana would want to use the device to bring back the dead. He refused.


	19. The China Saga 4: Evade

**Evade**

Victor Stone accompanied Lana Lang to Macau, China, forgoing his training at the Shaolin temple so that he could use his bionic abilities to repair a device--a device he was told had the potential to save countless lives.

When Victor arrived in Macau, Lana revealed to him that Arthur Curry had also been working with her, and that he had recently been seriously injured.

Victor later learned that Lana and her associates drugged Arthur, and brainwashed him so he would work for them. He also learned that Lana also planned to use the device to bring back the dead.

Victor refused to help them.

Kevin Grady stepped forward. He lifted up his hand. A green light emanated from him and surrounded Victor. From Kevin's facial expression Victor determined that Kevin was trying to hypnotize him.

Kevin's mind powers had no effect.

Victor grabbed Kevin's hand with his right arm, immobilizing him. With his left leg he swept under Kevin, causing him to fall down, unconscious. He then stepped back.

Byron Moore jumped at him like a lion. Victor moved to the side, grabbed Byron's coat, and directed the brunt of Byron's attack into the stone floor. Byron was also unconscious.

Lana was shocked. She rummaged through her coat, looking for her Zamaron power-ring.

Believing that Lana was reaching for a weapon Victor leaped through the air with a jump kick and knocked her onto the hard floor.

As he landed Victor turned and saw Chloe Sullivan standing just a few feet away from him.

Her face was as white as a ghost. She was very frightened, and gave a blank stare. Chloe slowly backed away into a corner and sat down.

Victor walked over to where Arthur had been lying. He removed an IV from Arthur's arm that was being used to drug him. After a few moments Arthur woke up.

He was groggy, and had trouble remembering where he was. Together they walked outside to safety.


	20. The China Saga 5: Pledge

**Pledge**

After escaping from Lana's compound in Macau, China, Victor Stone and Arthur Curry made their way to the city's airport and chartered a private plane. They flew to Arthur's estate on the island of Jeju, South Korea.

There Arthur rested and regained his strength. While he rested Victor sat outside and stared out at the ocean around Jeju Island. The weather was stormy. The waves crashed over the rocky coastline.

When Arthur woke he approached Victor. He apologized for his carelessness that lead to the destruction of the Edge gang and the Metropolis Children's Hospital.

In response Victor said to Arthur "You're my brother. We'll bear this guilt together, like brothers."

Arthur sighed and sat down beside Victor. "I'm starting to remember what happened back there in Lana's hideout. After you left Metropolis I never thought you'd use your power again", he said.

Victor replied "I didn't use my power against Lana's gang. I used kung fu."

"Kung fu?", Arthur asked.

"Yeah", Victor said. "I can't return to my Shaolin temple now, but someday I'm going to complete my training. I'll never need to use my powers again. Nobody will ever get hurt again."

Arthur asked, "What do we do now?"

Victor said, "We go to Smallville and tell Clark about Lana, then we go back to Metropolis and turn ourselves in. My Green Arrow days are over."

"Alright", Arthur replied. "We turn ourselves in."

Together they stared out at the waves.


	21. Emily Dinsmore Saga Part I: The Rose

**The Emily Dinsmore Saga, Part I: The Rose**

The doctors at Belle Reve Sanitarium determine that although Emily Dinsmore's mind is still developing, and somewhat child-like, she no longer poses a threat to society. Emily is released from Belle Reve Sanitarium.

Lana Lang, now the leader of a vigilante group known as the Hand of Vengeance and going by the alias Star Sapphire, learns that Emily has been released into the custody of Luthorcorp, and that she has already begun training to become part of Lex's elite task force, a group more commonly known as the Legion of Doom.

Byron Moore is wounded in a battle between the Legion of Doom and the Hand of Vengeance. The attack on Byron unexpectedly blows up in Lex's face as it causes Lana to become even more enraged. Lex had been unaware that Lana loved Byron.

Emily Dinsmore remains in the custody of Luthorcorp, to the chagrin of Lana. Although Lana has managed to scare off Lex's Legion of Doom she is no closer to securing the release of Emily. She makes plans to attack several Luthorcorp facilities.


	22. Emily Dinsmore Saga Part II: Firstborn

**The Emily Dinsmore Saga, Part II: The Firstborn**

Luthorcorp facilities go up in flames. Unwilling to sacrifice anything more for the questionable benefits that Emily Dinsmore might provide for Luthorcorp, Lex decides that he will hand Emily over to Lana Lang.

But Tina Greer, the head of Lex's elite task force and commander of project Vanguard (a group responsible for identifying and eliminating threats to Luthorcorp) challenges Lex's decision. She tells him that as the head of the Vanguard it is her responsibility to identify this threat, and that she should be allowed to do her job.

Lex listens to Tina's proposal. Tina tells him that she and her operatives have narrowed the location of Lana's base of operations to the area of the Kawatche Indian reservation outside of Smallville. Since Luthorcorp has been unable to scan the area because of jamming devices Tina asks Lex to allow her go in undercover to determine the exact location of their facility herself.

Lex is reluctant to risk his most valued operative, but he eventually agrees to her plan, knowing better than to argue with Tina once she makes up her mind.


	23. Emily Dinsmore Saga Part III: Skinwalker

**The Emily Dinsmore Saga, Part III: Skinwalkers**

Tina had been making her way through the dark Kawatche forest when she stumbled into the midst of a pack of skinwalkers. Never having seen a skinwalker before, she screamed in terror.

The skinwalkers were members of the Kawatche tribe. They recognized Tina immediately as an agent of Sageeth, their name for Lex Luthor. Upon spotting her weapons they hurled themselves through the air at her. One of them snatched her rifle. Another snatched her sword. The only weapons Tina had left were two daggers, but it wasn't long before those were taken also.

The skinwalkers surrounded Tina and growled furiously. Finally, one of them jumped at her neck. Tina caught the skinwalker in mid-air and flung it into the darkness. The others attacked her in a mad fury.

Tina fought them tooth and nail. She struck out in all directions at them with powerful blows. Unable to counter her superhuman strength they piled themselves on top her in an effort to keep her down. But soon they found that was impossible. She got up over and over again.

Tina managed to fight them off eventually, yet she had lost a lot of blood in the fray and was light-headed. Unable to call for help because of signal jamming devices in the area, she slowly began to make her way back the way she came.


	24. Emily Dinsmore Saga 4 Far from Home

**The Emily Dinsmore Saga, Part IV: Far from Home**

Eventually Tina could walk no longer. She sat down and leaned against a tree.

A bright light appeared in the distance. Tina could see a person within the light. It was Lana Lang. She looked like an angel to Tina.

Tina thought back to her high school years. She remembered how much she loved Lana. She wondered whatever happened that caused them to hate each other so much and what her life might have been like if they had remained friends.

Tina spotted Lex beside Lana in the distance. Lex reminded her of her father. Tina's father died when she was just a child, but she still remembered what a happy family they had been before he passed away. She recalled the beautiful mansion they lived in, and how sad she and her mother had been when they could no longer afford to make mortgage payments. They had to sell some of their most precious belongings to make ends meet. She wished she could see her father again and tell him how much she missed him.

Tina lost consciousness. Lana ordered her followers to tend to Tina's wounds. When they were done Lana told Lex to take Tina and leave immediately, and that she expected to see Emily Dinsmore very soon.

Lex picked up Tina in his arms. He carried her past Lana's most powerful guardians to a nearby dirt road. A camp had been set up there by Lex to provide Tina with the best medical treatment that money could buy.


	25. Emily Dinsmore Saga 5: Paranoid

**The Emily Dinsmore Saga, Part V: Paranoid**

As the Justice League grows stronger Lex Luthor lies awake at night, unable to sleep. His dreams become nightmares. Lex dreams about the time when he first learned of the Native American prophecy of Naman and Sageeth. In his nightmares Lex is Sageeth, and he is killed by Naman, who is Clark Kent.

Although Lex's defenses are formidable, having genetically modified Molly  
Griggs and Dr. Helen Bryce to make his defenders nearly invulnerable, his  
fears are renewed when he discovers that Kyle Tippet, a metahuman with the ability to overpower a person's will with a touch, is with Clark Kent and they've been working together for some time.

Lex's main concern is for his last line of defense, Mxyzptlk. Although  
Lex remains confident that Mxyzptlk is more than a match for Clark,  
especially now that Mxyzptlk has bionic implants that are designed to  
prevent his auditory system from becoming overloaded, Lex's scientists  
advise him of a possibility that Kyle's and Mxyzptlk's abilities may have  
the effect of cancelling each other out. Lex fears that this might give  
Clark the opportunity to finish him off.

To eliminate this weakness Lex plans a strategic attack on the Justice  
League with the primary goal of eliminating Kyle Tippet. To improve his  
chance of success Lex assigns Molly Griggs the task of designing a device that might counteract Kyle's abilities, and render him powerless.

In his desperation Lex even considers asking Lana Lang, now more commonly known by the alias Star Sapphire, for help.

Lex ultimately decides to offer Emily Dinsmore, Lana's childhood friend,  
as a bargaining chip in return for the services of Lana's followers, a group of vigilantes known as the 'Hand of Vengeance'.


	26. Emily Dinsmore Saga 6: Deceiver

**The Emily Dinsmore Saga, Part VI: Deceiver**

Lana and her followers despise everything that Luthorcorp stands for.  
However Lana ultimately decides to accept Lex's offer. She does this to save Emily, her childhood friend in addition to being a powerful metahuman with the ability to run at great speeds through solid matter. Another reason why she does this is because of her own personal fear and loathing for Kyle Tippet.

Lana had first met Kyle when she was only fourteen. She had been riding her horse through woods near Kyle's house when her horse was spooked, and she was thrown from it. When she awoke she saw Kyle leaning over her. After hearing odd stories about him and the woods near his house she came to believe that he spooked her horse and planned to attack her.

Hearing Kyle's name also brought back bad memories of Clark. Lana remembered that Clark had stood up for Kyle, an action that left her feeling hurt and betrayed. It was like losing one of her best friends.

Lex tells Lana that he hates himself for the time that he provided shelter  
and a doctor for Kyle, something he did at Clark's request.

Lex and Lana realize that although they despise each other, with every fiber of their beings, they also share common enemies--Clark Kent, Kyle Tippet, and the Justice League with them.


	27. Emily Dinsmore Saga 7: Salvation

**The Emily Dinsmore Saga, Part VII: Salvation**

In return for freeing Emily Dinsmore, Lana's childhood friend in addition to being a powerful metahuman, the Hand of Vengeance agrees to aid Lex's Legion of Doom in a strategic attack on the Justice League. The primary goal of this attack is to eliminate League member Kyle Tippet.

In addition to securing Emily's release, Lana also sees this attack as a good opportunity to reaffirm Chloe's loyalty to the Hand of Vengeance. Chloe had been with Lana when they were younger when her horse was spooked, back when she believed she had been attacked by Kyle Tippet.

Although Chloe had initially been attracted to Lana's goal of protecting Earth from dangerous meteor freaks and Kryptonians, Lana had much difficulty in convincing Chloe to understand her complete vision. Chloe later learned that Lana believed that in order to keep the world safe from Kryptonians and meteor-freaks she would have to sacrifice them for the greater good. However, Lana provided exceptions for a few meteor freaks that she felt had been the innocent victims of Luthorcorp and Summerholt experiments including Chloe who had accidentally inhaled a Kryptonite gas while investigating Luthorcorp, along with Kevin  
Grady and Byron Moore.

But unknown to Lana, Chloe had gotten to know Kyle after the alleged incident, and came to see him as a good and decent human being. And when Kyle later left Smallville to see what good his power could do for the world, Kyle kept in touch with Chloe and they became pen  
pals.

Before the arranged attack the Legion and the Hand agreed that their strategy would be to distract Justice League members Kal-El and Bart Allen and lead them away from Kyle, who they would then eliminate. Jordan Cross, the leader of the Justice League, had a power that  
was more cerebral and was not seen as a threat. Jordan was monitoring their progress from a distance.

Sending in the mightiest first, Lana and Lex ordered Bizarro, Byron Moore, along with Dr. Helen Bryce and Molly Griggs, the two of whom had been genetically modified so that they were nearly invulnerable, to engage Kal-El and Bart Allen.

The Legion and Hand members put up a good fight. After about five minutes they then began to fall back to another part of the forest, away from Kyle, nevertheless some of them had taken heavy blows. They then turned and then enaged them again.

Unable to run as fast as Kal-El and Bart, Kyle Tippet attempted to follow as quickly as possible. But as he ran after them he began to slow as he saw Emily Dinsmore walking freely through the battleground. He stopped to talk to her. He asked if she was okay and if she felt strong enough to use her power to help Kal-El and Bart Allen. But then, suddenly, her  
face changed, and Kyle realized it was actually Tina Greer, Lex's most feared assassin.

Tina took Kyle by suprise with a kick to the head. It stunned him and he nearly fell over. Jeff Palmer, one of Tina's Vanguard, grabbed Kyle from behind, keeping him on his feet.

Through the fog Mxyzptlk could be seen approaching shortly afterward. Mxyzptlk had been second in command of the Legion after Tina, yet he felt humiliated by Kyle's power. Lex's scientists recently revealed concerns that Kyle might render Mxyzptlk powerless when in  
close proximity.

Mzyxptlk instructed Jeff to move away. Kyle stood alone with Mxyzptlk, barely able to stand. Now was the time that Mxyzptlk would have his revenge. He walked close to Kyle so that the others couldn't hear and said the word 'choke' to Kyle, expecting him to choke. When  
nothing happened Mxyzptlk swore and punched Kyle hard in the stomach, which caused him to fall over. He instructed Jeff to pick him back up, and then pulled something out of his pocket that looked like a knife.

Chloe and Lana watched from a safe distance. Although Chloe had been a friend of Kyle some of her memories had been temporarily erased by Kevin Grady, at Lana's request, in order to ensure her continued loyalty. But when Chloe saw Kyle fall over, it jolted her.

Puzzled by her feelings Chloe turned to Lana for guidance. Looking over at her she saw that Lana was laughing. Lana was happy to see Kyle getting what she believed he deserved.

Chloe's warm feelings for Lana turned to hate. Although Lana (AKA Star Sapphire) was very powerful, wielding a Zamaron power ring that gave her the ability to fly and a repelling ray, Lana had not thought it necessary to wear her ring, as she was far from the fighting.  
Chloe knew this and quickly took the opportunity to punch Lana in the face, knocking her unconscious. Chloe then picked up the Zamaron power ring and used it to knock the remaining Legion and Hand members unconscious.

Chloe used the ring to fly over to Kyle, hoping she wasn't too late. When she got close to him she saw that he had been stabbed through the heart.

Heartbroken, she kneeled over Kyle, believing him to be dead. A tear fell from her eye onto Kyle's forehead. She collapsed on top of him, unconscious.

The energy from Chloe's spirit surged through Kyle. Not only did it heal him but he also looked much younger, closer to her own age.

From high above, Chloe and Kyle together looked ironically peaceful in the forest, as if they had been sleeping, yet all around them they were surrounded by the unconscious bodies of vicious assassins.

Kyle woke up. He was shocked to find Chloe lying unconscious on him and also that he had been surrounded by his enemies. He was also surprised to see Chloe wearing Lana's Zamaron power ring.

Fearing that the power of the ring would corrupt Chloe, he took it off her finger and put it in his pocket. He picked her up and carried her to safety, into the cover of the forest.

After walking a few minutes Kyle felt a burning sensation in his pocket. It was the Zamaron power ring. It flew out of his pocket, and then he realized that Lana must have regained consciousness. He started to run as fast as he could while still carrying Chloe, but then he tripped and they both fell. Chloe regained consciousness and Kyle told her what happened.

Behind them they heard explosions. They realized that Lana must have followed the path of the ring behind them. Lana appeared to be firing randomly, in the forest, causing explosionsall around. Terrified, they hid behind some rocks.

After a few moments the explosions stopped and Lana appeared in the distance. They could see that she was furious, but she still could not find them. She screamed out loud in all directions. She said that her friendship with Chloe was over and that now Chloe was her  
enemy along with Kyle. She also called Chloe weak for doubting her wisdom. When she finished she flew into the air, shooting randomly in all directions again, and then took off in one direction, still firing.

Kyle led Chloe, who was still weakened, to Jordan Cross who had been monitoring their progress from a secret location off a nearby dirt road.


	28. Emily Dinsmore Saga 8: Estranged

**The Emily Dinsmore Saga, Part VIII: Estranged**  
When the battle for the fate of Emily Dinsmore was over, Chloe Sullivan was in the care of the Justice League, and Lex Luthor turned Emily over to Lana, as he promised.

Emily, who had recently been released from Belle Reve Sanitarium, was now rehabilitated, yet her mind still remained somewhat child-like. Emily looked to her childhood friend, Lana, for guidance.

Kevin Grady disagreed vehemently with Lana's decision to bring Emily into the Hand of Vengeance. He believed that Emily deserved better than the life of a vigilante. He was also alienated by Lana's aloof demeanor. Kevin began to question Lana's reasoning, and his own.

Jeremiah Holdsclaw, a member of the Kawatche Indian tribe, learned of Lana's activities on the Kawatche reservation. He was as first angered at their intrusion, but after learning of their opposition to Luthorcorp and to Kryptonians like Clark Kent he was drawn into their group.

Jeremiah's knowledge of Kryptonian artifacts was prized by Lana, who sought after artifacts that would make her group, the Hand of Vengeance, a greater force to be reckoned with. She played on Jeremiah's affections for her, to the chagrin of Byron Moore, to gain access to his knowledge.

Over time Lana's group became more and more powerful, yet Lana remained the strongest. She wielded a powerful weapon known as a Zamaron power-ring. Her group called her Star Sapphire. She became a cult figure.

Jeremiah began to suspect that Lana's feelings for him weren't genuine. Eventually he learned about her relationship with Byron Moore, who was known within their group as 'Werewolf'.

One day Lana asked Jeremiah to help her with a device called a 'resurrection stone'. She wanted to use it to bring Van McNulty back from the dead. She said that Van was the one who instilled in her the foresight to begin the battle against the meteor-infected and those who were not of this world. Jeremiah agreed to her request.

Together they gave new life to Van. Van was furious as he saw himself surrounded by freaks. Lana was disappointed, but realized that in time he would come to see her wisdom.

But before Lana could convince Van, he disappeared. Jeremiah was also gone. Van hid in the Kawatche forest, waiting for the right moment to attack.

Jeremiah's hatred of Lana drew him into the hands of Lex Luthor, a man he had once hated. At that time Jeremiah saw Lex as Lana's most powerful enemy.

Meanwhile, the specter of Van McNulty lurked ominously in the darkness, waiting for the right moment to have his revenge against Lana for bringing him back from the dead. Van saw his chance as Kevin Grady lead Emily Dinsmore away from the group to meet Chloe. Kevin hoped Chloe would be able to protect Emily from Lana with help from the Justice League.


	29. Emily Dinsmore Saga 9: Vesper

The Emily Dinsmore Saga, Part IX: Vesper  
Kevin Grady is a former member of the Hand of Vengeance, a supergroup of vigilantes led by Lana Lang, who recently effected the escape of Emily Dinsmore from the Hand of Vengeance. Kevin took Emily to Chloe Sullivan, a former group member who has since been rehabilitated. Kevin is happy to see his former friend Chloe is behaving like her old self again, and is sorry for his part in temporarily erasing her memories so she would continue to obey Lana Lang (AKA Star Sapphire).

After talking with Chloe for several hours, Kevin comes to the realization  
that he has no where else to go, and nothing to do with his life. In light  
of Kevin's recent actions, Chloe suggests that he seek membership with the Justice League, and asks her long time friend Clark Kent to vouch for him.

Clark, although wary of vouching for a former enemy, is thrilled like Chloe  
to see that Emily is safe again. He considers Kevin's plight. Being a long time friend of Chloe Sullivan, Clark listens to what she has learned in her conversations with Kevin. After meeting with Kevin himself he finally agrees to submit his name for membership.

One month later Kevin is invited by the League to make his case. He  
approaches the League eagerly, and discusses his recent change of heart and his conversations with Chloe Sullivan.

Like Clark, the League members were loath to grant membership to one of their former enemies. However they also greatly appreciated his act in freeing Emily Dinsmore, which they also perceived as a blow to the Hand of Vengeance power base.

After much deliberation, the League decides to grant membership to Kevin after he has faced justice for his crimes. But in support of him they offer to testify to his good deeds. The League expects that Kevin will serve only five years. Kevin is grateful for their willingness to testify, and agrees to face justice.


	30. The Traitor's Gift

**The Traitor's Gift**

_The following are the words of Jeremiah Holdsclaw, the betrayer, who turned his back on the Star Sapphire goddess and embraced the Evil One:_

"Long ago the Kawatche tribe foretold the coming of an evil man. This evil man could be killed only by the hand of Naman, their savior. They named this man Sageeth."

"They foretold that gods would tremble at his feet, and legions of the most powerful beings in the Universe would heed his call."

"Only the fiercest among them would have the honor of serving him and sharing in his glory."

"Yet he would live on long after many of them had perished."

"But those who survived in the end would be as gods among men."


	31. The Pale Moonlight

**The Pale Moonlight  
**In the beginning the Legion of Doom began as a black ops squad under the direct control of Luthorcorp.

This squad was eventually divided into two units. Project Vanguard was responsible for identifying and eliminating threats to Luthorcorp. Project Rearguard was responsible for defending Luthorcorp interests around the globe.

Over time it became obvious to the world that Lex Luthor was more than a robber baron. After evading death on numerous occassions he was dubbed by the press to be a "man out of time" that could not be killed by ordinary means.

Eventually his black ops team learned also of the Kawatche Indian myth of Naman and Sageeth from Jeremiah Holdsclaw, and became further convinced that Lex had some kind of mystical ability to evade death. Lex Luthor became a cult figure.

When Lex's black-ops team was given the name "Legion of Doom" by the metahuman gangs in Metropolis they became even more cult-like, using the name between themselves. Terms like Project Vanguard and Project Rearguard were replaced with 'Vanguard' and 'Rearguard'. Tina Greer, the commander of Project Vanguard was given the title and rank 'Sword of the Vanguard'.

Likewise the Hand of Vengeance, a vigilante group led by the notorious criminal Star Sapphire, began as an idealistic crusade to save the world from dangerous Kryptonians and meteor freaks. But over time the awesome power of Star Sapphire made her a cult figure as well.

Star also took advantage of the abilities of Kevin Grady, who eventually left the group and joined the Justice League under the code-name Vesper. She convinced Kevin to alter the memories of her followers for a "greater good". In addition, it was believed that her Zamaron power ring also has some kind of affect on the human brain.

Later when Jason Dante (AKA Hellfire) and Van McNulty (AKA Vendetta) joined her group Star had abandoned her previous goals of defending humanity from dangerous aliens and meteor freaks. Fighting had become a way of life for her as it did with other members including Van, Jason and Byron Moore. She and Jason eventually led her group to become more cooperative with Lex's Legion.


	32. Sword of the Vanguard

**Sword of the Vanguard  
**_Lois Lane, writing for the Inquisitor:_  
It's been a grim two weeks for the Justice League. While less than a year ago the League had seen many victories over their adversaries, groups rumored to be Lex Luthor's secret operatives and also radicals calling themselves the 'Hand of Vengeance', the League has recently experienced some major setbacks.

While having a great deal of success in open combat, the League appears to lack the ability to deter Lex's more cunning operatives. The recent failure of the League to thwart the assassination of a second member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governers has dampened their popular support.

It's rumored that the person behind these assassinations is a metahuman woman having superhuman strength and the ability to change her face and body to resemble almost anyone.

It's said among metahumans that she may be Lex's most cunning assassin and that she is untraceable and, in light of recent events, unstoppable.

It's also believed by many metahumans that the League's only hope for the time being is the chance that there could be an internal struggle among Lex's secret operatives, or that one of Lex's operatives might fall out of favor with him and choose to defect to the Justice League, bringing with him information that could help the league to stop the next attack.

But in light of the success of the recent assassinations this possibility seems more unlikely than ever.


	33. The Fate of Jeff Palmer

**The Fate of Jeff Palmer**  
Since his release from Belle Reve Sanitarium, and becoming a member of the Legion of Doom, Jeff Palmer has been a constant thorn in Lex's side, many times refusing to obey his orders.

Despite Lex's love for Jeff's sister, Amy Palmer-Teschmacher, Lex had enough of Jeff's disobedience and decided to get rid of him once and for all.

Lex assigned the task to Legion member Dr. Helen Bryce, Lex's former wife and would-be murderer, as a test of her wavering loyalty. To ensure that nothing went wrong Lex ordered his former business rival Victoria Hardwick, someone who was personally almost murdered by Jeff years before, to accompany her. Dr. Helen Bryce, frustrated like Jeff with her unfavorable treatment by Lex, reluctantly agreed to this task.

Unknown to Lex, Amy Palmer-Teschmacher, who at the time was engaged to Lex, approached Clark Kent, a local hero, and begged him to save her brother. Clark was reluctant to save Jeff because of Jeff's shady past, but he agreed to do it for Amy, who he knew would be devastated by Jeff's demise.

Amy gave Clark the details of the assassination. Together they planned Jeff's escape. One week later Helen was sent by Lex to kill Jeff. Lex changed his plan, sending her an hour earlier than expected.

Helen located Jeff. After knocking him unconscious she bound his hands and feet and dragged him to one of Lex's secret underground tunnels. Victoria Hardwick followed her closely behind, watching Helen's every move.

After moving a safe distance from Lex's mansion, Helen clutched her gun and aimed it at Jeff. Helen hesitated. Victoria saw Helen's indecisiveness and threatened to call Lex himself to finish the task. Furious, Helen shot Victoria Hardwick.

Victoria scratched Helen's face before falling to the ground, and then spat at Helen. She told her that she was a fool and would die, and then screamed for the guards. In a panic, Helen cut Jeff's bonds. Together they ran for their lives through the tunnel, not looking back.

After a couple of hundred feet they came up on the guards stationed near the tunnel exit. After several minutes Helen managed to shoot her way through the guards. She and Jeff ran past them toward the exit. But a few seconds later they heard gunshots from behind.

Helen told Jeff to run for it, not knowing that Clark was only a few hundred feet behind her, at the tunnel exit. She was able to hold back the guards long enough for Jeff to make his way to safety, but soon she ran out of bullets.

Jeff found Clark and explained to him that Helen was in danger. Clark rushed into the tunnel. He found Helen lying on the ground.

After spotting Clark Lex's guards opened fire with kryptonite bullets. Clark grabbed Helen and ran back to Jeff. He picked up both of them and brought them to a secret location where they had arranged to meet Amy Palmer-Teschmacher. Clark carefully placed Helen on the ground.

An ambulance had been stationed nearby. But Helen, being a medical doctor, told Clark that it was late for her. She thanked him for saving Jeff and herself from Lex. As a last request she asked Clark to give Jeff a chance to redeem himself.


	34. Paragons of Justice

**Paragons of Justice**  
_Lois Lane, writing for The Inquisitor_  
Only a year ago the Justice League was formed in a birth of fire. On all sides they were surrounded by their enemies, from Lex Luthor's ruthless assassins to a gang of vigilantes calling themselves the 'Hand of Vengeance', led by the notorious criminal Star Sapphire.

But instead of being crushed by their enemies the Justice League fought back bravely, and many times were victorious, thanks to the iron will of Jordan Cross, the bravery of Bart Allen, the honorable Kyle Tippet, and the inspiration of Kal-El, a Kryptonian.

Today, in light of recent infighting between their enemies, the Justice League has become more powerful than ever. In the city of Metropolis, tales of the Justice League's activities become legendary among the metahumans living there. Many of these metahumans, now living as criminals or vigilantes, are being more and more influenced by the example of the Justice League. As a result the League is flooded with requests for membership.

The League's response to many of these requests is to accept only after the applicants face justice for their crimes. Some agree, but many do not, and continue to plague our fair city with violence.


	35. The Arrival of Green Lanterns

**The Arrival of Green Lanterns**  
Bizarro, recently brought to Mars by the Martian Manhunter, was transferred to the authority of the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic police force who enforces the laws of the Guardians of the Universe. They enforce their laws using weapons called power rings.

A short time after taking Bizarro into custody, the corps detected an odd energy reading from the planet Earth. The energy field was identified as that of a Zamaron power ring. The corps immediately went to Earth to investigate, fearing that their enemies, the Zamarons, had infiltrated Earth.

After investigating, they were relieved that the ring had been discovered by a mere human by the name of Lana Lang, who they later also learned was the leader of a vigilante group known as the 'Hand of  
Vengeance'.

Eager to return to their respective home planets, yet sworn to obey the laws of the Guardians, the corps decided to find someone in their stead who could provide a balance for Lana Lang's newly discovered power ring.

After doing some research, the corps learned about a group of metahumans who called themselves the Justice League, and how this organization had a history of having altercations with the Hand of  
Vengeance. They also learned about their leader Jordan Cross, who the press described as having an "iron will". This pleased the corps. Only someone with a strong will would be able to successfully wield a Green Lantern power ring.

The corps quickly located the League's headquarters, and revealed their dilemma to Jordan. They then offered Jordan a power ring if he agreed to use it to keep Lana Lang's ring in check.

Many members of the Justice League rejoiced. They believed that now they would have the ability to finally put an end to Lex Luthor's vicious assassins and also the vigilante group known as the Hand of Vengeance.

But one member spoke out in protest. Kyle Tippet feared that Jordan, the League's leader, could not both lead the League and wield a ring of power without being corrupted. Kyle himself had personal experience with being tempted by power, since having the ability to control someone's will with a mere touch of his hands.

Bart Allen rejected Kyle's argument angrily. "How do think we're going to survive against Lex Luthor's psychos and this new group of vigilantes without this ring!", he yelled. "We need this ring! Jordan would never betray us!" Clark tried to calm Bart down, pulling him back.

Jordan's wife Megan was also angered from Kyle's accusation. The League had recently been outnumbered by their combined enemies, and she feared now more than ever for Jordan's life.

Jordan stepped forward and addressed the League. "Thank you Bart", he said. "I wish I could be someone who you could always trust. I wish you would never have anything to fear from me, but Kyle is right."

He turned, facing the Green Lantern corps. "You're offer is very generous, and we thank you for it", he said, "but I cannot accept this ring as long as I am leader".

The Green Lantern corps was shocked. According to their law they couldn't leave Earth without appointing someone to balance the power of the Zamaron ring. However, they also needed to return to Mars immediately in order to relieve the guard for Bizarro. They decided that they would relieve the guard, and then would return later to find another to take the ring.

In just a few seconds they flew away, back to Mars, but they were never seen again. It's rumored that Bizarro was able to convince a Corps officer by the name of Sinestro to abandon his post, a decision that led to the deaths of two of his fellow officers and his commander as well.


	36. Heedless

**Heedless**  
_Lois Lane, reporting for the Inquisitor (newspaper):_  
Lex Luthor's dealings with the Justice League were becoming more and more  
intense. The League was growing into a threat that seemed to be  
beyond his control. Unable to subdue them with his 'Legion of Doom', a  
group rumored to be a vicious gang of metahuman assassins, Lex is now said  
to have fallen back onto his ties to power in Washington. Allegedly, he used those ties to influence the government to take four Justice League members into custody.

It is also said that several government agencies, including the FBI, decided that  
they would acquiesce to Lex's demands because of fears concerning the extent  
of Lex's grasp into their secretive worlds.

When news of this policy change reached the press there was a public  
uproar. Widespread protests erupted condemning the FBI and  
supporting the Justice League.

Fearing a loss of political support, Congress chose to pass a resolution  
to prevent government agencies from arresting any additional members  
of the League without the explicit consent of the Supreme Court. In addition,  
Congress advocated the immediate release of the League members already  
taken into custody.

It is rumored that, in response, Lex sent his Legion into FBI  
headquarters where his operatives transferred the League members to a  
secret compound beneath Metropolis. In the meantime Lex's political  
operatives were reportedly working around the clock in an effort to change the  
minds of influential politicians in Washington.

In the wake of this alleged kidnapping Congress is said to be now debating what part the  
government will play in securing the release of Metropolis's finest.  
Over the past year the Justice League has garnered widespread  
popular support for their role in bringing back order to our city.

Although there is support for a rescue it's rumored that  
Congress, not wanting to drag themselves into what they perceive as mostly  
a war among metahumans, will agree that the best course of action will be to pardon  
metahuman prisoners who had proven themselves to be faithful to the  
League by turning themselves over to authorities.

It's rumored that Lex has had much success in swaying votes in  
Washington, yet the widespread protests concern many politicians.  
It's believed that Congress will ultimately decide that they are obligated to  
support the release of the metahuman prisoners.

The most notable of these metahumans are Arthur Curry and Victor Stone,  
former members of the 'Agents of Justice' gang, and also Kevin  
Grady, a former member of the terrorist group 'Hand of Vengeance' who has  
since become more commonly known as the first metahuman to successfully  
petition the League for membership.

In this eleventh hour the prisoners desperately await news of a presidential  
pardon. In the meantime, it's said that politicians are making a last minute attempt  
to sway the president's decision to free the three prisoners.

Although the prisoners' initial number is small, the government hopes that more  
metahumans will come out to support the League, just as the general  
population is doing. However, at this time many metahumans are more  
skeptical than ever of the government, mainly because of the rumored deal  
made by Lex Luthor to have the League members taken into custody.

However, one metahuman calling herself Black Canary has worked selflessly to  
rally support for the three metahuman prisoners. Black Canary, also a former member  
of the Agents of Justice gang, has long been a fervent supporter of the League, and  
was said to be deeply saddened by their imprisonment. It's reported that she  
speaks openly of a dream she had the night of the arrest in which she saw an  
eagle soaring over Metropolis, the dream that has since convinced her to  
join the cause of the three metahuman prisoners.

Along side Black Canary are other former members of 'Agents of Justice'  
including Green Arrow and another metahuman calling herself the Huntress.  
Reportedly they have since become close friends.


	37. The Junior Team

**The Junior Team**

After saving League members Jordan Cross, Kyle Tippet, Bart Allen and Kal-El  
from a secret Luthorcorp compound beneath Metropolis, the citizens of Metropolis  
cheer the triumph of the League over Lex Luthor's minions.

A new supergroup forms, having a senior team of the four original members and  
now a new junior team made up mostly of their rescuers.

Kevin Grady and Oliver Queen, being natural leaders, soon assumed leadership  
roles on the junior team. But over time, their leadership responsibilities began  
to weigh heavily on them. They found that they shared many values with the senior  
team and its leader Jordan Cross, yet they have their own principles  
which make them unique.

Other junior members quickly form new friendships. Victor Stone and Black Canary  
(AKA Dinah Lance) find that although they had different upbringings they have  
many common experiences and values. Helena Bertinelli (AKA the Huntress) and  
Arthur Curry soon became infatuated with each other, but later were surprised to  
discover that their goals and dreams are very different.


	38. Ragnarok

**Ragnarok**  
After months of surveillance the Justice League was finally able to track down  
the base of operations of criminal mastermind Lex Luthor, thanks largely to the  
efforts of Chloe Sullivan. Chloe had managed to infiltrate the base and transmit  
a message, but was cut off.

After an hour of radio silence the League fears the worst. Although the League's  
top priority at the time was to capture Lex Luthor, who by then had already  
become a threat to all humanity, Jordan Cross ordered the League to move in  
prematurely to see if they could save Chloe Sullivan. He made this decision  
after having a vision of Chloe in which she was still alive.

To get there as quickly as possible Jordan ran alongside Clark at  
superspeed, and Kyle Tippet ran alongside Bart Allen. The remaining League members  
followed as quickly as possible.

Thanks to information from Chloe, the first to arrive easily made their way past  
Lex's defenses, and were able to enter the base undetected. They were also able  
to locate Chloe who was incapacitated but still breathing. Clark tried to wake  
her but was unsuccessful. They feared that Chloe was in a coma.

Jordan asked Bart to take Chloe to a hospital nearby where she would receive  
medical attention. Clark wondered if the power of his Fortress could revive her.

After Bart returned, the League decided that they would make the most of the  
situation and would use the information they received from Chloe to locate and  
capture Lex. To do this they split up into two groups: Kyle teamed with Bart and  
Jordan with Clark. The two teams moved to two locations where they believed they  
would find Lex. They moved slowly and carefully to reduce the possibility of  
being detected.

Kyle and Bart headed west through a ventilation shaft. After crawling about 100  
meters they heard someone talking. They recognized the voice of Molly Griggs,  
one of Lex's chief bodyguards. She seemed to be talking to Lex on a phone. They  
heard Molly mention that Lex was in a room about 500 meters to the west, and was  
preparing to leave the compound in a helicopter.

Bart and Kyle tried to contact Clark and Jordan but weren't able to get through.  
Bart ran off at superspeed through the shaft in a last ditch effort to stop Lex.  
Kyle followed behind him, moving as fast as he could.

In another part of the compound, Jordan was seeing another vision. This time he  
saw Bart lying on the ground, struggling to breathe. It appeared to Jordan that  
Bart had been commanded to choke by Mxyzptlk, Lex's chief bodyguard. He also saw Kyle and Mxyzptlk  
together. The two of them appeared to be struggling. Jordan told Clark that he  
believed that Clark only had time to save one of them.

Clark ran as fast as he could to Bart's location. He fould him lying on the  
floor, choking. Instinctively Clark tapped Bart's head and Bart was knocked  
unconscious, yet breathed regularly as if asleep.

Clark quickly ran further west, hoping to find Mxyzptlk and Kyle, but was  
stopped by a door that was painted with a kryptonite-based paint. Through a  
window he was able to see them. They appeared to be struggling over a gun.

Kyle noticed Clark through the window, and from behind Clark he appeared to  
see Bart also. For some reason, possibly thinking that Bart was dead, Kyle  
lost his focus and was shot by Mxyzptlk. Mxyzptlk saw Clark and ran down the  
hallway which led to the helicopter pad outside.

Clark banged on the window, trying to break it, but he was weakened by the  
kryptonite on the door nearby. After a few minutes he managed to break through  
the window.

Jordan caught up to Clark and they climbed into the room together. Bart, having  
been awakened by the sound of the gunshot, joined them as well.

Jordan asked Bart, being the fastest, to take Kyle to Clark's Fortress, hoping that  
they would be able to revive him there, or at least put him in stasis. Jordan and  
Clark ran down the hallway after Lex and Mxyzptlk. Clark ran ahead as fast as he  
could, but was soon weakened by green kryptonite, this time from the floor tiling.

He slowly became weaker, but he would not give up. Clark realized  
that as Naman, from the Kawatche Indian prophecy, he was the only person who  
could ultimately put and end to Lex Luthor. In his life of crime Lex had earned  
a reputation as being a 'man out of time' who could not be killed after evading  
death on numerous occasions. Clark could not let him escape but, try as he  
might, Clark was not able to withstand the green kryptonite for long, and  
collapsed. His heart sank. Jordan caught up with Clark and helped him back to safety.

Together Jordan and Clark wondered if their last hope of stopping Lex was gone forever. Jordan and Clark also wondered if the world would survive the madness of Lex Luthor, a manipulative genius and a criminal mastermind,  
who had become a threat to all of humanity. They ran to the Fortress, where they met up with Bart, to see if there was anything more they could do for Kyle and Chloe.


	39. A Small Victory

**A Small Victory**  
In a last-ditch effort to save the world from the madness of Lex Luthor, Jordan Cross gave the order for the Justice League to proceed with an attack on Lex's secret base. But after long months spent planning and conducting surveillance, Lex had managed to elude them one more time. When the dust settled Chloe lay in a coma and Kyle Tippet was on the brink of death at the Fortress of Solitude. Clark begged Jor-El to save their lives.

In response Jor-El told Clark to give him his last two blue k crystals. Clark hesitated. Up until that point the crystals had made the Justice League strong. Not only did they give Jordan Cross and Kyle Tippet protection from Bizarro and Star Sapphire, but the crystals also allowed them to run alongside Bart Allen and Clark at super-speed.

It had been a tumultuous day. Clark thought back to Kyle and Chloe's final waking moments. Chloe had been indispensable in finding Lex's secret base, and Kyle had been indispensable in fending off Mxyzptlk, Lex's last line of defense. Kyle's efforts allowed Clark to save Bart Allen from certain death. Clark wondered how he would ever stop Lex without them.

Jor-El heard Clark's thoughts, and for the first time he was completely open with Clark. He told him that if he gave him the crystals that one day they would have another chance to capture Lex. He said that one day, in the future, Chloe and Kyle Tippet would be completely healed and, in addition, they would have all of Clark's powers as well.

Clark took a look around him at his companions in the Justice League. Beside him stood Jordan Cross, Bart Allen, Kevin Grady, Oliver Queen, Victor Stone, Black Canary, Helena Bertinelli and Arthur Curry. Strong as they were, he wondered how long it would be before another of them would fall.

Clark released the blue k crystals from his hand. They floated over to where Chloe and Kyle lay in stasis. Instantly something that appeared to be crystal formed around them. They appeared as though they were frozen in large blocks of ice.

The League gathered around them. There was a moment of silence. When the silence ended, Clark told them that one day Chloe and Kyle would return to them, and together they would finally save the world from the madness of Lex Luthor. He also said that until that day came they would do everything in their power to prevent Lex from conquering humanity.


	40. Relentless

**Relentless**  
The Hand of Vengeance waged a bold battle in their quest to save humanity from dangerous meteor freaks and aliens, including Kryptonians. At times the Hand would fight against both the Justice League and Lex's "Legion of Doom". They were often outnumbered, and attacked in mostly hit-and-run skirmishes.

They survived on adrenaline and hate. But over time took its toll on Lana (AKA Star Sapphire) and her band of vigilantes, eating away at them. Every day a part of their souls faded away.

Eventually their path of destruction and devastation changed them forever. They were far from their noble goal of the past, of saving humanity. They became almost unrecognizable to their former friends and families. Star Sapphire became known as a notorious criminal by the press and as a dark goddess to the Kawatche people. The Hand of Vengeance, while originally seen as noble vigilantes, were branded as terrorists.

When Kevin Grady, a former member of the Hand, ascended to the rank of council-leader among the Justice League he began a relentless campaign against his former comrades. Only a handful were powerful enough to elude him. Kevin, now going by the code-name Vesper, was obsessed. He still had a great deal of guilt for his role in helping to found and establish the Hand of Vengeance.

One day Byron Moore was inadvertently killed in a Justice League attack. The death of Byron, who was very close to Star Sapphire, drove her to the brink of madness. With help from Bizarro, who disobeyed Lex's orders so he could help her, she retaliated by leading an all-out assault on the Justice League in which she planned her revenge against Kevin Grady.


	41. Betrayal

**Betrayal**  
At the Justice League's headquarters an alarm sounded. They were under attack by the Hand of Vengeance, a group of metahumans who dedicated themselves to vigilantism.

Kevin Grady, the Justice League's current leader, was being moved to a more secure part of the compound. He was accompanied by Clark Kent, who was going by the code-name Superman (the name that he was known by to the public).

There was a loud explosion. Star Sapphire, accompanied by Bizarro, had penetrated the compound. With help from Bizarro's x-ray vision she was able to locate Kevin Grady, and with Bizarro's guidance she fired a laser from her ring. It hit Kevin Grady in the stomach, immobilizing him.

Clark flew at them, but he was too late. Bizarro struck Clark in the jaw. Star, in turn, also punched him in the jaw. Star and Bizarro continued striking Clark over and over again, in succession, until Clark finally fell on the ground, unconscious.

Star located Kevin Grady, who was wounded and lying on the ground. She laughed at him. "The hunter has become the hunted" she said. "Now you are going to die for what you did to Byron."

Gasping for air, Kevin replied "you killed Byron. You killed him. Byron was a poet. You turned him into a monster!"

Star replied "Traitor! Friend of Superman! Superman, the one who has betrayed me so many times before! You who stole Emily away from me! Emily gave me hope, and you took her away! You left me with nothing but hate! And you were one of my best friends!"

Kevin replied "No, you turned your back on me a long time ago, back when you met Jeremiah Holdsclaw, the one who gave you that evil ring! The one who brought Van McNulty back from the dead! Now you're just like him! Now you're just like Lex! If I hadn't saved Emily she would have become just like you!"

Without a word Star Sapphire shot Kevin through the heart. Bizarro, who had been monitoring the Justice League's communication system, told her that Van McNulty and Jason Dante had been captured, and Greg Arkin and Jodi Melville surrendered without a fight.

Star replied "Soon I will free Van and Jason from prison. Greg and Jodi will die."

Bizarro told Star that they had to leave immediately to avoid being captured. He asked her to return with him to Lex's secret compound. Star reluctantly agreed, believing that Lex was the only person who could protect her from the Justice League. Bizarro was aware that he would be punished severely by Lex for his disobedience but, like Star, he also felt that he had no other choice.

Star grabbed Bizarro from under his arms and lifted him into the air. She flew backwards, allowing him to fire at the Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) with his freeze vision and flame breath. J'onn soon became disoriented, giving them time to escape.

When Clark awoke later he told J'onn that it was lucky that J'onn got disoriented. Clark was lucky to be alive. J'onn would have surely died if he had faced the two of them alone. Lex's Legion was now more powerful than ever.


	42. Dark Horse

**Dark Horse**

Justice League council-leader Kevin Grady was killed in an attack by the Hand of Vengeance, a metahuman gang of vigilantes lead by the notorious criminal Star Sapphire. In addition, the Justice League's headquarters was virtually destroyed. The Hand was aided by Bizarro, causing the League to believe that Star and Lex were now working together.

At Kevin Grady's funeral Clark Kent, who had become the Justice League's temporary council-leader, took the opportunity to praise Kevin Grady's life. He recalled how Kevin had once been a member of the Hand himself, and how he eventually came to question their ways of vengeance, rebelling against them and saving Emily Dinsmore.

"The world is full of good people, like Kevin", he said, "who were once misguided". "The Justice League will be a beacon for them, a symbol of hope. We will rebuild our fortress so that it is stronger than ever before."

Clark's statement was later criticized by Oliver Queen and Helena Bertinelli (AKA Huntress) as being reckless. Their criticisms were rebuffed by council member Bart Allen and the Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onz). Dinah Lance (AKA Black Canary) was inspired by Clark's vision. That night she dreamt that the vigilante from Gotham calling himself 'The Batman' had decided to join their cause.


	43. The Protector

**The Protector**

_The following is a message from Clark Kent, temporary council-leader of the Justice League, to former council-leader Jordan Cross. Jordan left Earth to aid the Green Lantern Corps in a galactic war. _

"Hi Jordan, this is Clark. I hope you get this message someday. We all know that you've been flying around the Universe with the Green Lantern Corps fighting a galactic war against the Zamarons, and traveling through time and space. We're all so proud of you. We all wished we could have been right beside you.

Recently, Victor Stone single-handedly managed to rescue Black Canary and Green Arrow from a secret Luthorcorp compound. There were times when I had my doubts about Victor, but in the end he made the right call.

And Kevin Grady turned out to be such a great leader. Bart and I still can't believe that only five years ago he was fighting under Star Sapphire. He did so well on the junior team that it wasn't long before he made the council, and then became council leader soon after.

Under his leadership we managed to capture most of the Hand of Vengeance. Byron Moore was inadvertently killed in the fighting recently. There's only a handful of them running around now, Star included. She's on the loose, and more dangerous at the moment. But they're really desperate right now. We think they might even join up with Lex's Legion.

You would have been so proud of them."


	44. Heart of Flame

**Heart of Flame**

After the attack on Justice League headquarters, in which most of her followers had either surrendered or been captured, Star Sapphire joined Lex's Legion in return for their protection. She swore allegiance to Tina Greer, Lex's head of the Legion and commander of the Vanguard (a faction of the Legion responsible for identifying and eliminating threats to Luthorcorp).

Star was disgusted at having to kneel before her former enemies, but she was desperate. She was made to kneel before Tina, someone who had terrorized her as a teenager.

She was completely humiliated. Star despised Greg Arkin and Jodi Melville now more than ever, who had turned themselves over to the Justice League without a fight. She stoically begged for her admittance into the Vanguard.

After her acceptance, Star participated in the Vanguard's search and destroy operations in return for the Legion's protection. The Legion later helped to free her former comrades, including Jason Dante (AKA Hellfire) and Van McNulty (AKA Vendetta).

The Vanguard would attack anyone who presented a threat to Luthorcorp, including the Justice League. Star found some solace in their battles with the Justice League. She felt betrayed by them. Several of them had once been close friends, and she believed that she had been villainized in her crusade to save humanity from dangerous meteor-freaks and aliens.

Over time Star proved to be a valuable asset to the Legion. Eventually she began to take pride in her abilities again. She lost sight of her goals of the past. Most meteor-freaks came from the Lowell County area, and had died by that time. Only a few of them remained. Star also learned that aliens could be a valuable asset to her. In her battles along side the Vanguard she fought on many occasions with Sinestro, a Korugarian, and came to respect and even admire his skill with power rings.

Lex, however, came to regret his decision to bring Star into the Legion. Every time he looked at her he was reminded of the young, idealistic teenager who once gave him hope for the world. The path that was laid before Star now was his fate, not hers. It was his destiny since he was a child. Lex never intended for Star to follow in his footsteps.


	45. Determination

**Determination**

A year had passed since Jordan Cross joined the Green Lantern Corps. Since then he had been traveling through time and space fighting a galactic battle against the Zamarons.

One week after Clark sent his message to Jordan, Clark received a message from the Corps. The Corps had lost contact with Jordan's battalion. The battalion was chasing a horde of Zamarons though a time portal, one that lead to earth--an earth thirty years in the future.

The Corps later intercepted Zamaron communications hinting of a legion of enemies waiting for them on the other side of the portal, a great weapon that would finally give the Zamarons their victory, and an evil genius who would lead the Zamarons into a new era.


	46. Preserve

**Preserve**

Clark Kent became the temporary council leader of the Justice League after Kevin Grady was killed in an attack by the Hand of Vengeance, a metahuman gang of vigilantes lead by the notorious criminal Star Sapphire. The only other council member at the time was Bart Allen.

Their former leader Jordan Cross had left almost a year ago to join the Green Lantern Corps in a galactic battle against their enemies, the Zamarons. And Kyle Tippet remained in stasis at the Fortress of Solitude after being critically injured by one of Lex Luthor's minions.

The Justice League had taken on some new members, including former Agents of Justice members Oliver Queen (AKA Green Arrow), Helena Bertinelli (AKA Huntress), Dinah Lance (AKA Black Canary), Victor Stone, and Arthur Curry. Yet as former members of the Agents of Justice gang they all agreed that they would never be members of the council when they joined the League.

During the attack by the Hand of Vengeance two members of the Hand, Jodi Melville and Greg Arkin, had surrendered themselves. With the League's influence Jodi Melville served only six months in prison. Greg Arkin was given a sentence of five years. They were newer members of the Hand, and did not play a large part in their terrorist operations.

Greg and Jodi originally saw the Hand as freedom-fighters but they soon learned from their mentor Byron Moore (AKA Werewolf) that the Hand had a careless disregard for human life. To protect Jodi, Greg Arkin secretly accepted tasks that were given to her by Byron, tasks that included destruction of private property and intimidation.

After Jodi had served her six months she sought membership in the Justice League. Council members Clark Kent and Bart Allen were both concerned that Jodi might be traumatized from her experience with the Hand, but Jodi persisted and told them that she was ready to serve the common good. Clark and Bart ultimately accepted her request for membership.

Years earlier, Jodi had been meteor-infected but was cured of her hyper-accelerated metabolism and fat absorption abilities by Luthorcorp scientists. This experimentation on her eventually attracted Lana Lang's (AKA Star Sapphire's) attention, who sought out meteor-infected individuals who were the "victims" of Luthorcorp and Summerholt experiments. Subsequently when Jodi was accepted into the Hand of Vengeance she was given alien artifacts procured by Lana, with help from Jeremiah Holdsclaw.

One of these items was a belt that gave her enhanced strength, speed, agility, stamina and also emitted energy bursts resembling shooting-stars. She was also given a staff which enabled her to fly and manipulate energy. Combined with her gymnastics and kickboxing training Jodi was a formidable adversary, and one of the few members of the Hand of Vengeance who managed to elude the former Justice League council-leader Kevin Grady.

Jodi had been given the name Darkstar by Lana Lang, a name Lana hoped would inspire fear in her enemies. But when the public learned of her acceptance into the League and saw her flying in the sky with Clark Kent (who they called Superman) they dubbed her 'Stargirl'.

Jodi was elated to be praised by the public, and gratefully accepted the name 'Stargirl' as her official code-name.


	47. Eviscerate

**Eviscerate**

After Jodi had served her six months she sought membership in the Justice League. Council members Clark Kent and Bart Allen were both concerned that Jodi might be traumatized from her experience with the Hand, but Jodi persisted and told them that she was ready to serve the common good. Clark and Bart ultimately accepted her request for membership.

Star was furious to learn of Jodi's acceptance into the League, yet in the time Star spent as a member of Lex's Legion she had learned patience. She carefully planned her revenge against Jodi. In the meantime Star sent assassins after Greg Arkin, who had been incarcerated at Stryker's Island Penitentiary near Metropolis.

One after the other Star's assassins were defeated. Although Greg was a newer member of the Hand his myriad, insect-like powers rivaled even Star Sapphire's abilities. Greg's powers included superhuman strength, speed, agility, the ability to cling to solid surfaces, and web projection. Greg was also able to transmute himself into a swarm of insects--a tactic he used to escape Clark Kent when they fought as teenagers.

Star refused to yield and continued to send assassins, fiercer than before, and in greater numbers.

One day Greg Arkin was forced to kill one of her assassins in self-defense. He was visited soon after by Clark Kent and Bart Allen, members of the Justice League.

Although Greg appeared to be handling himself well against Star Sapphire's minions, the continued attacks took a toll on his psyche. While he was fond of insects as a teenager he eventually became disgusted by his abilities, and his frightening potential to inflict harm. He appealed to the Justice League for help.


	48. Primal

**Primal**

[In the operations room at Justice League Headquarters Clark Kent, Bart Allen and Jodi Melville discuss the day's events]

Clark Kent: Bart. Have a look at this intelligence report. I need your opinion.  
Bart Allen: [reads the intelligence report]Whoa. It's a set-up. We know those creeps don't move like this!  
Jodi Melville: What is it?  
Clark Kent: Lex's Vanguard Legion. This report says that they're planning to rob the Federal Reserve Bank in Metropolis [hands her the report].  
Jodi Melville: [reads the intelligence report]Star! Star Sapphire is going to be there! And there's only three agents with her: Tim Westcott (AKA 'The Sandman'), Lowell Wilson (AKA Flex), and Subcommander Trent MacGowen (AKA 'The Terminator'). I can handle those guys myself!  
Bart Allen: [puts his hand on Jodi's shoulder]No. Jodi, it's a trap and Star's the bait. There's no Tina [Greer], no Bizarro, no Sinestro.  
Jodi Melville: But this is our chance to save Greg [Arkin].  
Clark Kent: Bart and I met with Greg the other day, Jodi. Greg's going to be fine.  
Bart Allen: [with his hand still on her shoulder] Jodi, Greg's going to be okay.


	49. Confound

**Confound**

After receiving an intelligence report concerning a robbery at the Federal Reserve Bank of Metropolis, council members Clark Kent and Bart Allen set up a stakeout of the bank, using advanced technology to monitor the purported robbery from a distance. Meanwhile Justice League officers Green Arrow, Huntress, and Black Canary were positioned at strategic locations near the bank, ready to intervene at a moment's notice.

After an hour of surveillance, Clark and Bart detected minor explosions in the area of the bank. It was the break-in. Star Sapphire was using her power-ring to blow a hole through a concrete wall.

The breach in the wall enabled Bart and Clark to conduct a more thorough scan of the bank. The bank vault was empty. It was a trap, as they had suspected. The Vanguard were trying to lure them in.

"Ha! Nobody's coming, ya dill weeds!", Bart said. They both laughed.

A few minutes later they detected massive energy readings in the bank. Green Arrow noticed them in the distance. "What's going on Clark?", he said over his communicator.

"It's Jodi.", Clark responded apprehensively. "Jodi's gone rogue; she's going after Star Sapphire!"

"We move?!", Green Arrow said.

"No time!", Clark said. "Bart!"

Inside the bank Jodi Melville (AKA Stargirl) and Star Sapphire were in a heated struggle. With all their power they directed their energies at each other.

Star had the upper hand with her weapon, a Zamaron power-ring, but Jodi wouldn't give up. Jodi feared that if she didn't stop Star she would lose her friend Greg Arkin forever.

Jodi's persistence only made Star more fierce. In a fit of rage Star hurled Flex, one of her agents, at Jodi. He flew past Jodi, and through a hole in a wall behind her, falling five stories to the ground. Jodi's concentration faltered for a moment, giving Star the upper hand. Star let loose with a burst of energy that knocked Jodi off her feet. Jodi was unconscious. Star moved in to finish her off.


	50. Ghosts

**Ghosts**

Star Sapphire let loose with a burst of energy that knocked Jodi Melville off her feet. Jodi was unconscious. Star was moving in to finish her off.

From out of the darkness Clark Kent (AKA Superman) and Bart Allen (AKA Flash) appeared like ghosts. Clark stood between Star and Jodi. Bart picked Jodi up and disappeared a moment later.

Star continued walking toward Clark. Star looked dazed, as if she was under the influence of some kind of drug. She muttered the name 'Clark' and looked at him inquisitively, as if she didn't recognize him. Clark wondered if somewhere in the deep recesses of Lana's brain a part of her was still good.

Suddenly her eyes turned into a cold stare. Star turned and flew outside like a bat, and then lit up like a firefly.

She had given the signal. The Vanguard were on their way.

Before Clark realized what was happening he was running beside Bart Allen. Bart had grabbed his arm, and was pulling him forward.

Behind himself Clark felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Bizarro. He was only a few feet away.

Bart and Clark moved faster and faster. Bizarro fell further and further behind, until finally Bart and Clark heard a scream behind them. They looked back and saw that Bizarro was howling in defeat. He sounded more like a monster than a man.


	51. Tempest

**Tempest**

For Star Sapphire's role in the death of Lowell Wilson, one of Tina Greer's Vanguard, she was marked for punishment. Using a device created by Legion member Molly Griggs to disable Star's power-ring, Tina beat Star so severely that she had to be hospitalized for several days.


	52. Ward

**Ward**

Greg Arkin, imprisoned at Stryker's Island Penitentiary, was forced to kill one of Star Sapphire's assassins in self-defense. He was visited soon after by Clark Kent and Bart Allen, members of the Justice League. Greg asked them for help, explaining that the continued attacks were taking a toll on his psyche.

Clark and Bart filed another appeal of Greg's sentence, and were surprised that the response of the court was very positive.

Clark and Bart were thrilled to be able to share this news with Greg, but Greg was still depressed. Greg knew that Star would never stop hunting him for his betrayal. He was also concerned about his abilities, and his frightening potential to inflict harm.

Clark and Bart tried to find some other solution for Greg. The next day they received a call from Dr. Jeff Palmer. Jeff, a former member of Lex's "Legion of Doom", had escaped the legion years before, and soon after began attending college under a new identity. Already a brilliant chemist, Jeff began to study neurochemistry, and received a doctorate degree in a few years. Eventually he developed a plan to "remap" the effects of kryptonite on the human brain.

He suggested to Clark and Bart that he might be able to remap the kryptonite in Greg's brain, moving it from primitive levels of the brain to very high levels. But the process had a major drawback. The patient would be in a coma for many months--possibly even years.

Clark and Bart met with Greg and told him of this new procedure. Greg's face lit up, even as he was aware of the drawbacks. Greg agreed.

The next day Dr. Palmer began the procedure with Greg in his lab at Belle Reve Sanitarium. Clark, Bart, and Jodi Melville, a close friend of Greg's, were able to view the procedure. They were not allowed in the lab room by Belle Reve security. Instead they watched the procedure through an observation window.

Clark and Bart had explained to Jodi that Greg had elected this procedure, even as he knew that he might soon be released from prison. They also explained that Jeff Palmer would be his doctor.

Jodi was concerned about Jeff. She asked Clark if he was sure that Jeff could be trusted.

Clark replied, "Of course I trust Dr. Palmer, Jodi. Jeff Palmer saved my life."


	53. Marked for Death

**Marked for Death**

For her role in the death of Lowell Wilson, one of Tina Greer's Vanguard, Star Sapphire was marked for punishment. Using a device created by Legion member Molly Griggs to disable Star's power-ring, Tina beat Star so severely that she had to be hospitalized for several days.

When Tina returned from her mission she was informed by her agents that Van McNulty (AKA Vendetta) had abandoned his post. He was tracked to his family's hunting cabin.

Tina, thinking that Van had lost his mind, decided to confront him in person. When she found him she hardly recognized him. He was dressed like a Kawatche Indian, and was standing beside a large bonfire. He held a samurai sword in his hands.

Van yelled at Tina telling her that he would have his revenge for the attack on Star Sapphire, his former leader while a member of the vigilante group the "Hand of Vengeance".

Tina accepted Van's challenge and unsheathed her katana.

Tina charged him. Van McNulty had become a skilled assassin, yet Tina Greer was the master of the samurai sword, and fought valiantly. She forced Van back until he was cornered, and then outmaneuvered him, piercing his heart.

Van fell to the ground. He let out a laugh, and then died a few moments later.

Tina looked down at his body and was shocked to discover that she had been standing within a circle. It appeared that someone had painted a white circle on the ground with spray paint. Around the edge of the circle there were words. The letters of the words resembled Kawatche writing that Tina had seen before. Tina was not able to translate the words herself so she sent for Jeremiah Holdsclaw, who was being held prisoner at the Luthor mansion.

Like Van, Jeremiah had also been a former member of the "Hand of Vengeance". He left them years before for Lex Luthor after being betrayed by Star Sapphire. Since that time Lex held him at the mansion even as Jeremiah pleaded and swore that he would never betray Lex. But Lex refused to risk the possibility that Jeremiah's knowledge would fall into the hands of his enemies.

When Jeremiah arrived at the cabin he found it difficult to read the writing. He got down on his hands and knees to take a better look. Suddenly he started laughing.

Tina, thinking that Jeremiah had also lost his mind, reprimanded him. "What is it, fool!", she said.

Jeremiah, still laughing, looked up at her and smiled. "These words are a curse", he said. "Anyone who enters this circle is cursed."

Furious, Tina charged at Jeremiah and lifted him up by the neck. "Tell me what it says you fool!", she screamed.

Jeremiah said "Anyone who enters this circle is cursed with my blood, and shall be dead before the final days of Sageeth". Sageeth was the name the Kawatche used to refer to Lex Luthor.

Jeremiah's words were shocking to Tina. She dropped him.

Jeremiah laughed and laughed at her. His laughter rang in Tina's ears as she slowly walked away.


	54. Illegitimate

**Illegitimate**

After the death of Van McNulty Tina Greer, the head of Lex's Legion and commander of the Vanguard, decreed that any Legion member who abandoned their post would be punished by death.

Over the years the Legion had become more and more cult-like under Tina's rule. For Mikail Mxyzptlk, the commander of the Legion's rearguard, this decree was the last straw. A civil war erupted in the Legion between Mxyzptlk and Tina Greer. Most of the Rearguard supported Mxyzptlk, while most of the Vanguard supported Tina.

Mxyzptlk struck a powerful plow with help from Molly Griggs. Molly Griggs was able to weaken most of the Vanguard using the technology she had developed for Lex Luthor to maintain control over the Legion.

The Rearguard fought the Vanguard back, forcing them into hiding, but were unable to achieve a complete victory by killing Tina Greer. Mxyzptlk's rearguard spent months searching for her. Both groups often changed location to avoid detection.

One day Tina Greer received intelligence of the Rearguard's current location. Using her shape-shifting abilities Tina was able to infiltrate their compound, bypassing Molly Grigg's security protocols. Before she was discovered, Tina managed to kill Molly Griggs along with several of her agents. Tina was able to escape with help from Sinestro who lifted her in the air and flew away.

After the death of Molly Griggs the Vanguard were able to undo the changes Molly had made to their power inhibitor devices. Together they prepared for a decisive strike against the Rearguard.

Realizing the futility of their situation, many of the Rearguard returned to Tina Greer and begged for her forgiveness.

Mxyzptlk was very powerful, having complete control over anyone within sound range. And with Tobias Rice at his side he was able to see his enemies coming from miles away. But still he was outnumbered. He fought bravely, but as he lost more and more of his allies he was forced into hiding.


	55. The Promethea

**The Promethea**

As Lex's "Legion of Doom" expanded some of it's members grew powerful beyond his control, including Mxyzptlk and Jeremy Creek. Other members learned too much and became a liability, like Molly Griggs. Over the years Lex eliminated many of his agents for these reasons.

Those who survived lived as rogues on the edge of society. Some waited in the shadows, biding their time until Lex was at his weakest, when they would again be gods among men. A few would aid the Justice League from time to time.


End file.
